WEALTH IN TERMS of material possessions is the common object of the hard work and perseverance of numerous people. Many think that having lots of money and plenty of properties will guarantee them security and happiness in life. Becoming rich is so important to many that they are willing to do just about anything to achieve this ambition. They use all their energies to succeed in work, even if it means leaving little or no time for their family and for God. Some even resort to gambling, swindling, and practicing corruption all for the sake of gaining wealth.

The riches of this world
The irony many fail to see is that after everything has been done and the desired level of prosperity attained, the wealth that they strove so hard to gain will all but amount to nothing:

“For riches do not last for ever; and does a crown endure to all generations?” (Prov. 27:24 Revised Standard Version)

The wealth this world offers is temporal, coterminous with the world where it is found. When this earth ends, every penny, every ounce of gold, and every pound of man’s precious treasures will be no more:

“The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God’s wrath.” (Job 20:28 RSV)

We don’t have to wait for the day of God’s judgment, however, to witness the futility of worldly riches. Over the centuries, prosperous people have died without fully enjoying the properties they had amassed for themselves. When death comes, the rich cannot enjoy the fruits of their labor anymore. Others will benefit from them instead (Eccles. 6:2). This is the very lesson taught in the Lord’s parable concerning the rich fool
(Luke 12:13-21). Apostle Paul wrote Christ’s message:

“For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” (I Tim. 6:7 New International Version)

While money and earthly possessions are important, they are not the end-all of man’s existence. What people should strive harder to achieve, therefore, is that which transcends the boundaries of material satisfaction.

Enduring wealth
Unknown to many, there are riches that are far greater than all the world’s treasures. The Book of Proverbs mentions of an “enduring wealth and prosperity” (Prov. 8:18). Apostle Paul likewise talks about riches found in the Lord Jesus Christ and preached by God’s messengers (Eph. 3:8).

The greatness of the riches the Bible speaks of is that they are enduring or lasting, unlike the riches of this world that are only temporary. People should therefore work even harder to achieve the enduring wealth at all costs.

But which is the riches found in Christ that endures or lasts? The Bible teaches:

“There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. The ransom of man’s life is his riches, but the poor does not hear rebuke.” (Prov. 13:7-8 New King James Version)

The ransom or the redemption of one’s life is the greatest wealth a person can ever have. By being redeemed, one is spared from the curse of the law under which sinners are placed (Gal. 3:13; Rom. 6:23). That curse is the death in the lake of fire on Judgment Day (Rev. 20:14) which no one—not even the richest man on earth—can escape from:

“Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.” (Zeph. 1:18 NIV)